Effect of man-made electromagnetic fields on common Brassicaceae Lepidium
sativum (cress d’Alinois) seed germination: a preliminary replication study
Efecto de campos magnéticos artificiales en la germinación de Lepidium sativum (Brassicaceae):
un estudio preliminar
Cammaerts MC1 & O Johansson2
Abstract. Under high levels of radiation (70-100 µW/m2 =175
mV/m), seeds of Brassicaceae Lepidium sativum (cress d’Alinois)
never germinated. In fact, the first step of seeds’ germination ‒ e.g.
imbibitions of germinal cells ‒ could not occur under radiation,
while inside the humid compost such imbibitions occurred and
roots slightly developed. When removed from the electromagnetic
field, seeds germinated normally. The radiation was, thus, most
likely the cause of the non-occurrence of the seeds’ imbibitions and
germination.
Keywords: Imbibitions; Seeds; Water; Wireless waves.
Resumen. Las semillas de Lepidium sativum, Brassicaceae,
nunca germinaron bajo altos niveles de radiación (70-100 µW/m2
=175 mV/m). En realidad, el primer paso en la germinación de las
semillas - ej. imbibición de las células germinales - no ocurrió bajo
radiación, mientras que tal imbibición ocurrió dentro del compost
húmedo y las raíces desarrollaron un poco. Cuando las semillas fueron removidas del campo magnético, las mismas desarrollaron normalmente. La radiación fue obviamente la causa que no ocurriera la
imbibición y la germinación de las semillas.
Palabras clave: Inhibición; Semillas; Agua; Ondas inalámbricas.
Faculté des sciences, DBO, CP 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50, Av. F. D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
The Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
Address Correspondence to: Marie-Claire Cammaerts, e-mail: [email protected]
Recibido / Received 27.III.2014. Aceptado / Accepted 19.V.2014.
1
2
FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137
Electromagnetism affects seed germination
INTRODUCTION
The present work was undertaken consequently to that
performed by a group of Danish girls (Lea Nielson, Mathilde
Nielsen, Signe Nielsen, Sisse Coltau and Rikke Holm), at
Hjallerup Skole, under the supervision of their biology teacher
Mr. Kim Horsevad. These girls made an experiment as a part
of a national science fair/competition for high school pupils
about which more information can be found at the website
www.ungeforskere.dk
All started when the girls had difficulties concentrating
in their lessons. “We all thought we experienced concentration problems in school if we slept with our mobile phones at
the bedside, and sometimes we also found we had difficulties
sleeping”. The five girls took 400 cress seeds and randomly
spread them into 12 trays. They then placed the trays in two
different rooms, at the same temperature, six in each room.
They gave to the trays the same amount of water and sunlight
over 12 days, but exposed six of the trays to mobile phone
radiation. In other words, six trays of seeds were placed in a
room with no radiation, while six were placed in another room
alongside two activated routers emitted roughly the same type
of radiation as a common mobile phone. The results were obvious: the cress seeds alongside the routers did not grow at all,
and some even seemingly mutated or died.
The students repeated their experiment twice. The results
in both were equally dramatic, and showed a dose-response
effect between the two batches. The statistical significance of
the biomass reduction in the students’ tests with a p-value (2tail) of <0.000005 is thought-provoking!
Great effort was made to characterize and measure the
premises’ background electromagnetic fields and the climatic
conditions. No obvious confounders were then found that
could give rise to - and explain - the different growth of the
irradiated and the non-irradiated seeds.
It would be tempting to just discard such observations
since they have not been performed under controlled conditions, thus not following all the rules of sciences. But often,
observations done outside of the regular laboratory environments are the start of new discoveries. So, we decided to try to
replicate the girls’ work.
Man-made electromagnetic waves have actually largely been
shown to have adverse effects on living organisms. They affect,
for instance, mammals (Adang et al., 2006; Benlaidi & Kharroussi, 2011), birds (Everaert & Bauwens, 2007), amphibians
(Balmori, 2006), bees (Kimmel et al., 2007, Sharma & Kumar,
2010; Favre, 2011), ants (Cammaerts et al., 2012, 2013), fruit
flies (Panagopoulos et al., 2004; Panagopoulos, 2012), and even
protozoa (Cammaerts et al., 2011). In fact, they act firstly and
essentially on the cellular membrane and so affect any living
organism (Cammaerts et al., 2011). Such waves have also been
shown to impact plants (Roux et al., 2008; Haggerty, 2010), at
physiological and ecological levels.
133
In order to bring some new information on the subject,
we here examine if man-made electromagnetic waves impact
plants’ germination and more precisely the first events occurring at the beginning of that germination. We are conscious
that our observations are only preliminary ones and that further studies (replication, cytological observations, and physiological studies) are necessary to verify the present finding
and to understand what is actually and exactly occurring in
germinal cells under radiation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Four identical series of seeds of Brassicaceae Lepidium sativum (cress d’Alinois) (same quantity, quality, origin, age) were
deposited on identical compost (same initial sample), each
one in an identical tray (20 cm x 15 cm x 4 cm). Compost
is the commonly used material for obtaining germination of
seeds. The compost was humidified with same quantity (100
ml) of the very same tap water. Two of these trays were set at
a place where the electromagnetic field reached an intensity
of 70 - 100 µW/m2 (= about 175 mV/m), this being mainly
due to the presence of two communication masts at about 200
meters of distance (Fig. 1). The two other trays were set at
another place where the electromagnetic field had an intensity
of about 2 - 3 µW/m2 (= 30 mV/m). These two series of seeds,
set under low radiation level, were used as the control sample.
Since the existing electromagnetic fields were generated by
communication masts, the frequencies of the emitted waves
were 900 MHz and/or 1,800 MHz. The intensity of the electromagnetic fields was measured using an HF 35 C radiation
intensity meter for frequencies from 800 MHz to 23 GHz
(Gigahertz solutions GmbH, Am Galgenberg 12, D-90579
Langenzenn, Germany). All the other environmental conditions were near-identical for each of the two double series of
seeds (temperature = 20 °C, humidity = 70%, luminosity ≈ 300
lux). The seeds were then observed after four, seven and ten
days, and tap water was poured on the compost, equally for
each series of seeds, at regular intervals. When obvious differences were surprisingly observed between the seeds set under
the two different levels of electromagnetism exposition, samples of seeds were removed, attentively observed and examined
under a stereomicroscope. Seeds which had been maintained
under two different levels of radiation were drawn using a
camera lucida (magnification = 25x), and via these drawings,
their length and their width (two orthogonal segments) were
measured in mm. The means of the obtained values were established and the distributions of values (for the length on one
hand, for the width on the other hand) corresponding to each
two kinds of seeds were statistically compared using the nonparametric χ² tests, the level of probability being set at p<0.05
(Siegel & Castellan, 1989). After these assessments, samples
of each kind of seeds were set under the lower exposure and
observed once more after two days.
FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137
134
Cammaerts MC & O Johansson, FYTON 84 (2015)
Fig. 1. The two communication masts causing most of the electromagnetic field of 70 – 100 µW/m2 in one of the experimental rooms.
Fig. 1. Los dos mástiles de comunicación causantes de la mayoría del campo electromagnético de 70 – 100 µW/m2 en una de las salas experimentales.
Germination did not occur under 70 - 100 µW/m2. After
four days, the seeds set under the two different electromagnetic field strengths already differed: those under the lower
level had begun to germinate while those under the higher
level of electromagnetic field had not at all done so. After
seven days in total, many seeds maintained under low level
of exposure had completed their germination and other ones
were in the process of their germination while the seeds set
under the higher level of exposure appeared unchanged (when
looking at them from above) (Fig. 2 A). The experiment was
continued until a total of 10 days with, at that time, the same
results as above: normal germination for the seeds under low
radiation, apparently no germination for those set under the
higher radiation.
In the humid compost, roots development occurred.
Ten days after the beginning of the experiment, seeds
set under the higher exposure (having not germinated)
as well as seeds maintained under low exposure (being
in the process of their germination) were collected, i.e.
taken using small pins and put into cups. First, they were
visually examined, and after that, observed under the stereomicroscope.
First, while doing this manipulation, we clearly detected
some external difference between the two kinds of seeds.
Those kept under higher radiation were dry, not clinging at all
while those kept without nearly no radiation were wet, clinging, and often attached to one another.
FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137
Secondly, very surprisingly, inside the humid compost,
small roots of seeds set under radiation had developed, nearly
like for seeds kept without radiation, with the difference that,
in the latter case, the roots were somewhat more developed
(Fig. 2B). It might be possible that, inside the compost and
the water it contains, the electromagnetic field either had a
lower intensity (through shielding effects) or had its adverse
effects decreased or even countered (compared to the situation
existing above the compost). Of course, if the effects we see
are dependent only on the radiation, the most sensitive plant
parts would be the ones above the soil, and they would be the
first to be affected/retracted/not developed.
Seeds’ imbibitions did not occur under 70 - 100 µW/m2. The
two kinds of seed, collected as related above, were observed under
a stereomicroscope, drawn (Fig. 2 C), and measured as explained
in the ‘Material and methods’ section. For seeds set under 2 - 3
µW/m2, the two variables on average equaled 0.51 mm and 0.27
mm while for seeds set under 70 - 100 µW/m2, these variables
on average equaled 0.45 mm and 0.21 mm. Statistically, 0.45 mm
turned out only slightly different from 0.51 mm (χ² = 3.34; df =
1; p ≈ 0.05) while 0.21 mm strongly differed from 0.27 mm (χ² =
10.77; df = 1; p ≈ 0.001). The more affected variable was thus the
seeds’ width. Consequently, it could be presumed that without
radiation, seeds normally went through the expected imbibitions
phenomenon (the first step of the plants’ germination) while under radiation, seeds were no longer able to go through this essential first step of their germination.
Electromagnetism affects seed germination
135
Fig. 2. Some representative images from the experiment. A: seeds after 7 days; B: seeds’ roots after 10 days; C: drawings of seeds
after 10 days; D: seeds removed from their initial location and set under 2 µW/m2. Each time, for each image: a = seeds kept under
70 – 100 µW/m2, and b: seeds kept under 2 – 3 µW/m2.
Fig. 2. Algunas imágenes representativas del experimento. A: semillas luego de 7 días. B: raíces de semillas luego de 10 días. C: dibujos de
las semillas luego de 10 días. D: Semillas removidas de su ubicación inicial y colocadas a 2µW/m2. Cada vez, por cada imagen: a = semillas
mantenidas a 70 – 100 µW/m2, y b: semillas mantenidas a 2 – 3 µW/m2.
According to the previous observation (see previous paragraph), it may be added that the germinal cells of the roots,
located inside (surrounded by) humid compost, could realize
such imbibitions.
Seeds exposed were still alive. The two kinds of collected
seeds were then taken out of their initial location and set, each
one, in a small tray (10 cm x 5 cm x 4 cm), the two trays
then being deposited side by side, in a room where the level
of radiation was low (2 µW/m2). The seeds having begun their
germination went on doing so and those having not germinated began to do so, this becoming apparent after two days
(Fig. 2 D).
DISCUSSION
The fact that man-made electromagnetic waves probably
have adverse effects on living organisms is actually more and
more realized and admitted. Reviews on the subject exist
(Pakhomov & Murphy, 2000; Fragopoulou et al., 2010; Sivani & Sudarsanam, 2012; Cucurachi et al., 2013). However,
first, the mechanism underlying such adverse effects are not
yet fully understood so it is difficult to counteract these effects
while still going on using any wireless technology. Secondly,
the revealed adverse effects apparently do not worry public
health authorities, parliaments, governments, and - thus - not
the general public who is not fully informed. Indeed, the wireless technology is actually more and more used, both for human work tasks and hobbies. Users are not worried probably
because the revealed adverse effects appear not to be emergent for human beings, i.e. effects on Protozoan’s locomotion
(Cammaerts et al., 2011), on Drosophila’s reproduction (Panagopoulos, 2012, Panagopoulos et al., 2004), on ants’ memory
(Cammaerts et al., 2012) and response to pheromones (Cammaerts et al., 2013), on bees’ collection of pollen (Sharma
& Kumar, 2010), on amphibian’s embryogenesis (Balmori,
2006), on rat’s memory (Adang et al., 2006), and so on, although they -of course- are! Here, we reveal yet an impact of
man-made electromagnetic waves on a very important phenomenon: the germination of the seeds of plants. We show
that the first essential step of the germination (= the imbibitions) seemingly does not occur under radiation and that the
electromagnetic waves are the only likely cause of such a nonFYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137
136
occurrence. We presume that the cellular membrane organization, the water and ions transfer through that membrane are
perturbed. Indeed, we have previously shown that the cellular
membrane is strongly affected by electromagnetism (Cammaerts et al., 2011), which explains, in our mind, the impact
of such electromagnetism on nervous cells, reproduction and
behavior. Other data are also in favor of such an assumption
(see the review of Marino and Carrubba, 2009). Let us add
that seeds are often deposited onto the ground and not set
inside the earth, and are so potentially maximally exposed to
electromagnetism. On the other hand, such electromagnetism
has been shown to impact, among others, the health of plants
(Belyavskaya, 2004; Roux et al., 2008; Haggerty, 2010; and
four Web sites in the list of references). Plants are truly and
very necessary for life on earth; people should now be very
conscious of this potentially emerging problem!
In conclusion, the present investigation -although preliminary in its character- indicates that the prodigious wireless
technology may effectively and seriously impact nature and
should urgently be used much more cautiously (see also the
published work of Doyon (2008)). The present study also
brings some new information on the subject -effect of electromagnetism on plants- but it must be replicated on several
plants species, at different independent laboratories, as well as
developed further at the cytological and physiological levels
by botanists, histologists and physiologists. Finally, in essence,
it clearly supports the initial findings of Lea Nielson, Mathilde Nielsen, Signe Nielsen, Sisse Coltau and Rikke Holm, at
Hjallerup Skole, under the supervision of their biology teacher Mr. Kim Horsevad.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors know of no conflict of interest related to this
work.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Olle Johansson was supported for this study by the Karolinska Institute, and Einar Rasmussen, Kristiansand S, Norway, Brian Stein, Melton Mowbray, Leicestereshire, UK, The
Irish Campaign against Microwave Pollution, and the Irish
Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA; Cumann Comhshaoil Dhoctuiri na hEireann), are gratefully acknowledged
for their general support.
REFERENCES
Adang, D., B. Campo & A. Vander Vorst (2006). Has a 970 MHz
Pulsed Exposure an Effect on the Memory Related Behaviour of
Rats? Wireless Technology 135-138.
Balmori, A. (2006). The incidence of electromagnetic pollution on
the amphibian decline: Is this an important piece of the puzzle?
Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry 88: 287-299.
FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137
Cammaerts MC & O Johansson, FYTON 84 (2015)
Belyavskaya, N.A. (2004). Biological effects due to weak magnetic
field on plants. Advances in Space Research 34: 1566-1574.
Benlaidi, F.Z. & M. El Kharroussi (2011). Effets des ondes électromagnétiques générées par le GSM sur la mémoire et le comportement chez le rat. http://sites.google.com/site/9drineuro/
r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9s6.
Cammaerts, M.-C., O. Debeir & R. Cammaerts (2011). Changes in
Paramecium caudatum (Protozoa) near a switched-on GSM telephone. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 30: 57-66.
Cammaerts, M.-C., P. De Doncker, X. Patris, F. Bellens, Z. Rachidi & D. Cammaerts (2012). GSM 900 MHz radiations inhibits ants’ association between food sites and encountered
cues. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 31: 151-165. DOI:
10.3109/15368378.2011.624661.
Cammaerts, M.-C., Z. Rachidi, F. Bellens & P. De Doncker (2013).
Food collection and responses to pheromones in an ant species
exposed to electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic Biology and
Medicine 1-18,Q Informa UK Ltd ISSN 1536-8378 print/ISSN
1536-8386 online DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2012.712877.
Cucurachi, S., W.L. Tamis, M.G. Vijver et al. (2013). A review
of the ecological effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic
fields (RF-EMF). Environnement International Journal 51:
116-140.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0160412012002334.
Doyon, P.R. (2008). Are the microwaves killing the insects, frogs,
and birds? And are we next? http://www.thenhf.com/article.
php?id5480.
Everaert, J. & D. Bauwens (2007). A possible effect of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone base stations on the number of
breeding house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 26: 63-72.
Favre, D. (2011). Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping.
Apidologie, Springlink.com DOI: 10.1007/s13592-011-0016-x.
Fragopoulou, A., Y. Grigoriev, O. Johansson et al. (2010). Scientific
panel on electromagnetic field health risks: Consensus points,
recommendations, and rationales. Scientific Meeting: Seletun,
Norway, November 17-21, 2009. Review of Environment and
Health 25: 307-317.
Haggerty, K. (2010). Adverse Influence of Radio Frequency Background on Trembling Aspen Seedlings: Preliminary Observations. International Journal of Forestry Research, DOI:
10.1155/2010/836278. article ID 836278, 7 p.
Kimmel, S., J. Kuhn, W. Harst et al. (2007). Electromagnetic Radiation: Influences on Honeybees (Apis mellifera). www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/papers/kimmel_iaas_pdf
Marino, A.A. & A. Carrubba (2009). The effects of mobile phone
electromagnetic fields on brain electrical activity: A critical review
of literature. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 28: 250-274.
http://andrewamarino.com/PDFs/CellphoneEMFs-Review.pdf.
Pakhomov, A.G. & M.B. Murphy (2000). Comprehensive review
of the research on biological effects of pulsed radiofrequency.
Advances in Electromagnetic Fields in Living System 3: 265-290.
www.mtt-serbia.org.rs/microwave_review/pdf/Vol11No203-IBelyaev.pdf.
Panagopoulos, D.J. (2012). Gametogenesis, embryonic and postembryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster, as a model
system for the assessment of radiation and environmental genotoxicity. Drosophila melanogaster, lifecycle, genetics… Ed M.
Spindler-Barth, Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 1-38.
Electromagnetism affects seed germination
137
Panagopoulos, D.J., A. Karabarbounis & L.H. Margaritis (2004). Effect of GSM 900-MHz mobile phone radiation on the reproductive capacity of Drosophila melanogaster. Electromagnetic Biology
and Medicine 23: 29-43.
Roux, D., A. Vian., S. Girard, P. Bonnet, F. Paladian, E. Davies &
G. Ledoigt (2008). High frequency (900 MHz) low amplitude
(5 V/m) electromagnetic field: a genuine environmental stimulus
that affects transcription, translation, calcium and energy charge
in tomato. Planta 227: 883-891.
Sharma, V.P. & N.R. Kumar (2010). Changes in honeybee behavior
and biology under the influence of cellphone radiations. Current
Science 98: 1376-1378.
Siegel, S. & N.J. Castellan (1989). Nonparametric statistics for the
behavioural sciences. - McGraw-Hill Book Company, Singapore,
396 p.
Sivani, S. & D. Sudarsanam (2012). Impacts of radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) from cell phone towers and wireless devices on biosystem and ecosystem - a review. Biology and
Medicine 4: 202-21.
http://www.wageningenuniversity.nl/NL/nieuwsagenda/nieuws/
Bomen101120.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1332310/Is-Wi-Fikilling-trees-Dutch-study-shows-leaves-dying-exposure-WiFi-radiation.html
http://readwriteweb.com/cloud/2010/11/study-wi-fi-is-makingour-tree.php
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/fr/Blog/le-wi-fi-tuerait-les-arbres/blog/33569/
FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 132-137